Growing Together

Why we are Different

At Tokyo Children's Garden we adopt a multi-teacher approach so we can understand each child's unique learning style and abilities, thereby providing the best learning environment for each child.

Higher-level of communication

With a maximum of eighteen children, our communication with parents is personal and in-depth. As our five teachers know every child, parents have peace of mind that they can speak to any teacher about their child's day.

Designed for Children

Everything in Tokyo Children's Garden's spacious classroom is at child level, creating a learning space that is inviting and comfortable.

Our passion

“With the speed of innovation today, we no longer know what skills our children will need for their future success. That is why children need teachers’ support to develop fundamental skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication. At Tokyo Children’s Garden, we use a contemporary child-centered approach that sparks our students’ imagination and sets them on the path to be independent, life-long learners.

From our backgrounds in education and research, we know the key to a great school is its teachers. Rather than each child being taught by only one teacher, we have adopted a collaborative approach; our five teachers support all eighteen students at the same time. Teachers support each other to teach in the best way possible for each child and really get to know their unique needs and abilities.

Our goal is not a successful school; we are determined to create the best school.

And we are equally committed to supporting the wellbeing and development of teachers across Japan through our workshops, thereby leading in the creation of a supportive educational ecosystem. We hope to make a difference to society through the work that we do.

— From Ann Nishigaya and Hisao Ihara, co-founders

Innovative educational triangle

Teacher training and an educational hub are equally important and connected parts of the base on which learning is built. By having a strong foundation and continuing to develop our work in these two fields, we aim to increase the level of learning of our students.

Teacher training

Through our multi-teacher environment, teachers gain ongoing professional development from their experienced peers. They receive support on encouraging positive behaviour, handling difficult situations and, most important, recognizing and understanding each child’s unique needs and how to best cater to them.

By interacting with all the students throughout the day, our teachers gain a range of perspectives on each one’s unique needs and abilities, fostering better understanding of the teaching approach that each child needs.

Learning

Our goal is to deliver the best preschool for our students and their parents. We believe that early years education is not only about supporting children to develop skills but also about encouraging confidence, compassion, and respect.

Through our education and academic research, we know that children learn in different ways, including verbally, visually, or musically. We are inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, drawing on its child-centered, inquiry-based learning style. We aim to give our students a great start in their lifelong learning. We enable children to realize their passions by helping them find what interests them.

Educational hub

Our teachers are well versed in established research and keep up to date with current and cutting-edge developments in the field. At our extensive range of workshops, our teachers—and those from other schools—learn from leading domestic and international experts on topics such as bilingualism and how play positively influences future academic success. We extend an open invitation because our aim is to create a supportive hub. Our co-founder and director, Hisao Ihara, is also director of the Association of International Early Childhood Education, a leading organization in providing best practice examples.

Workshops

For teachers

At Tokyo Children’s Garden, we care so much about preschool education that we not only support the ongoing training of our teachers but also teachers from across Japan. We host an extensive range of workshops to help teachers provide the very best early years education.

To date we have led workshops on bilingual education, language learning and brain development, and Reggio Emilia’s child-centered approach to education. Delivered by experts in their respective fields, the workshops have attracted 100 teachers so far based in and around Tokyo.

We aim to provide a model of best practice, to drive the development of other innovative, child-centered education programs in Japan.

For parents and children

We believe that parents are central to their children’s development and attitude to education. By providing informative sessions where parents can find out more about the latest research in early years education, we hope they can help support their children to achieve their unique, beautiful potential.

Workshop Dates

Tokyo Children’s Garden is hosting a session on Promoting Positive Behavior at Home.

Please see below for more details and register at info@tokyochildrensgarden.com

Saturday, October 21st: Promoting Positive Behavior at Home

Temper tantrums? Terrible twos? Or simply your children not doing as you ask? Challenging behavior and displaying independence are natural developmental stages for children, but there are things parents can do to minimize the struggles. We will present simple strategies for parents to encourage positive behavior at home.